Signing off in Baku – Sarri’s Chelsea days are numbered

It’s a strange atmosphere that surrounds Chelsea as they prepare for their Europa League final against Arsenal on May 29th.

The club, which has won five Premier Leagues and a Champions League trophy all in the last 15 years, could be considered to be in limbo at the moment.

Currently, at Stamford Bridge, there are far more questions than answers regarding the future of The Blues. Roman Abramovich seems to have lost interest in his not-so-shiny-anymore plaything, having pumped millions into player recruitment from when he acquired the club in 2003. The novelty seems to have well and truly worn off of Chelsea for Abramovich with some rumours even suggesting he would be open to selling at this stage.

That is not the only uncertainty that lies behind the scenes in West London, however. Club manager Maurizio Sarri’s job seems to have been in jeopardy since around December if some reports are to be believed. How Abramovich’s increasingly passive approach to club affairs impacts any potential decision remains to be seen.

Sacking Sarri now would seem a very harsh move from the Chelsea board after they finished third in the Premier League (securing Champions League qualification for next season), were losing finalists in the League Cup against Manchester City and still have next week’s Europa League final with Arsenal to look forward to.

Juventus are rumoured to be interested in giving Sarri a ticket back to life in the Serie A when Massimiliano Allegri steps down from his role next month.

Former Napoli boss, Sarri, has publicly claimed that he wants to remain at Chelsea and plying his trade in the Premier League. Yet, some feel that behind it all he might just be glad of a return to his homeland.

It has been claimed that Chelsea would not try to hold Sarri if he Juventus did make an approach and he was interested in the move back to Italy. The club would be set to make around £5 million in compensation should Sarri be lured to I Bianconerithis summer.

With Petr Cech returning in a technical role this summer, could we also be looking at the return of Frank Lampard to the Bridge before the 2019/20 season commences? Surely that would be too big an ask of such a young boss at this early stage of his coaching career. Stranger things have happened, though. Nothing should surprise us in the Chelsea managerial merry-go-round anymore.